Feeding device for slung spangle machines



May 25, 1948- M. H. STONE 2,442,220

FEEDING DEVICE FOR SLUNG SPANGLE MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1946 Maxwell H. Stone ATTORNEY INVENTOR Patented May 25, 1948 UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE Maxwell H. Stone, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application January 18, 1946, Serial No. 641,889

Claims. 1

This invention relates to slung spangle making machines and particularly to the means for feeding and supporting spangles operated upon by the machine.

Such spangles are in the form of thin, centrally performated discs which are strung on a top thread passing through the perforations of the spangles and held thereby in a pile or stack. Since about 10,000 spangles are arranged in the stack, it will be understood that the stack is of considerable length and must be handled with care. Heretofore, the stack has been supported by inserting the lower end thereof directly into the inlet tube of the machine. Reliance must therefore be had only upon the central or top thread to hold the spangles in the stack in their proper position to be fed to the machine. Said thread is drawn from a suitable spool arranged adjacent the uppermost end of the stack, the thread being unwound from the spool and drawn into the machine 'alongwith the spangles at the bottom of the stack. The machine overlaps the individual spangles in succession and reinforces the top thread by means of additional threads arranged lengthwise and along the middle of the rear face'of the finished slung spangle strip or ribbon. Other threads such'as bobbin or wrapping threads are wrapped by the machine atintervals around the top thread and the additional filler threads, at the rear face of the strip of spangles. None of the five threads mentioned other than the top thread aid in holding the stack of spangles in position for the reason that the additional threads are located at or near the bottom of the stack. The top thread consequently bears all of the load put upon the stack by vibration of the machine and the tendency of the long pile of spangles to sway about and to spill or overturn during the downward movement of the stack into the machine.

The top thread is necessarily as thin as possible so as to be inconspicuous in the finished rib bon or strip of slung spangles and the stresses put upon the thread frequently become too great for the thread to withstand, so that the thread frequently breaks with distressing results. At times, breakage occurs owing to the failure of the unavoidable knots' in the thread to pass properly through the perforations in the spangles or throughthe machine under the pull of the machine, especially when the spangles shift out of alignment in the stack. Such shifting due to vibration, extraneous forces or other causes, tends to wear out the thread with consequent weakenl of the lower end of the tube.

2 ing thereof and with a greater tendency to break under stress.

As will be obvious, when the top thread breaks, the sole support for the spangles in the stack is removed, and practically all of the spangles remaining in the stack fly about in all directions and are wasted unless expensive operations to gather and restack them are undertaken.

The present invention therefore contemplates the provision of means for relieving the top thread of much of the load thereon thereby reducing or eliminating danger of breakage thereof, said means also maintaining the spangles in proper alignment.

The invention further contemplates the provision of simple means for maintaining the spangles in the stack against disarrangement and loss in the event that the top thread should break, said means rendering it simple and easy to re-thread and stack. The invention further contemplates the provision of means in the form of'a tube and a weight slidable along the tube forinsuring proper feeding of the spangles in the stack to the machine and speedy and safe loading and reloading of the stack feeding devices when a new supply of spangles becomes necessary. r The various objects of the invention will become clear as the description progresses and from the drawings, in which I Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a slung spangle machine showing my invention applied thereto, the stack-supporting tube being shown foreshortened.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the stacksupporting and guiding means and of the slidable stack weight.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the tube and of the means for holding the threaded stack therein when the tube is not in place on the machine.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view Fig. 5 is a similar view of the same and of the auxiliary holding and feeding tube for the lower end of the main tube. p

Fig. 6' is a top plan View partly in section of the stack tube and of the slidable weight used in connection therewith.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example, the main tube I0 is of the proper innermost diameter to permit the easy insertion ofthe stack ll of spangles thereinto, while maintaining the stack in proper accurate alignment. The tube is provided with a slot 12- 7 3 7 extending throughout the entire length thereof to allow the weighty rod l3 and the supporting member l4 therefor to be easily inserted into the tube' and to slide downwardly therein as the height of the stack decreases. The stack weighting device will be described in detail hereinafter.

The lower end of the tube rests on the top of the inlet tube l5 of the slung spangle'making machine designated genenally by themnmerail 16.; At its upper-end; thetube carries a suitable-vashaped supporting hook or clip, one leg ll of which is arranged longitudinally of and is secured to the tube, the other leg l8 of the clipeulltstanding-atia convenient angle to permit the clip to be easily and removably hooked over a suitable support such as a fixed pin l9 or the likel To innall-main the lower end of the tube I place, an aux liary tube 20 is provided. The lower end of the tube are drawn thereinto, the spangles are overlapped and ,thetthneadswlnapped as described to produce the elongated continuous strip of slung spangles. When the stack is exhausted, the operator stops .tthe-kmachine, Sremoves the empty tube It] and its ,spool .oi-rthread ,26, and replaces the empty tube "with another tube ID containing a stack of is flared outwardly to fit around theinriaeldihe inlet tube [5 and is suitably notched as at its end age 322' i e restre reeerl n hfi heri enta spest 2- which carries the inlet tube. The upperlendpart Her-the auxiliarytubeisal efiaredeuiwar to nemitethe-iqwerl nd pf. the t b M to beme l teleseoped hepeintuwhen; machine r-is to l e icaded-x; he eheitudinel 519.17 24 Lethe-tub ereiera lmalieee wit l h s et t2 e -the tube 40 when theJifiQdi-ng deviceds :in eneration wher by themeiehtingired 4-3;;may mom-downwardly close tezi he t p inlet tube 4.5 and whereby the stac may be adegtuately inspectedt Obviously, by it en a em nt W th-the tube pct-the magthealluei liary- .tubemaintai-ns the-lowerflend of the stack tube [0 removably in its proper posttion efeeding the spangles :of the stack, while penmttti-ngzg -liek removal ofllthe-staek tube when therem:mineralsto:kaesheload iv v r 1' ikshasbeen herzei-nlaeione indicated, the weight- -eeieedillfi risiar'raaeed the-stackttubetc slide therein and to press downward-1y z lnen the teesetsthe' R 42 Ha lfi byitfl'i nsuglfiPlQpersieedg the spanglesto thefimachine l5. glaid-rod lease engitudinal -c Ill-P1784 hale 25 therein fprethe ehd-thmushthestaek ii p 1. d als hesalpngtudin Sla 3 L. fz i alleli' meet thel hele 25.; he mod 43 is weighted by the welghtszfl, "Zilearraneedhutsice of; atheltuhe tllendsiemed tethered J3 y ell-the ltwistedplate J4, :i lhe inner: tentical end part 3| of the plate passfiSJiMQHfih the slat L2 and secured J 9 theme Jammie-t e ot e h r se ld. apart 3? isvintemese h r ween the-ree ere h p nt etl-theaupper weight 28 and the upper end surface 34 of thelsmerweig artsi einssewed-to ether as by me ei-l leersemew 35 1b ,meunt thew iehting dev ce in place, it is first lifted to a point above the tuhe lit; then moved transvers ly to insert t e h p thlzeadithli ushst es e 21- and-li to the holelfi, Whe ea te it ismevee downwardly to. insert the rod l3 through the outwardly flared upperend 30 M thee ube 41. the r921 res s on t e ee the stack H, the plate SHQhmOMement pa s n the tuhe..s1ot;l2. hes ack s thuswveishted at its. tepth-nly to insure reading .0:

the spang'les into the machine 15, v

machine may be 9f anytim smta lelr r hei teefied, uipse er s win he shaxlel siinto overlapping relation and lnto,. -strip or )ribbon tor-me s ,ishow generally, the machine ,comar se -ea pair or imbue-carryin discs 3E. 31cc ami fill d. in oph si e.p irections as by means efethe: hell; al ei pull y 39- an suita interpose between. the. pulley shaftland ceas saw hobbit threads a Mar able long needle .whichdraws ,thelthrea'd downwardly trom thespool asuflicient distance to provide a free end part on the threadladapted for V insertion into the machine. 7 H c .When ereeloading the machine, thellower. end of -..the filled tube 10 .issetinto the upperlend of the awsll'iaryitube 1D,, and the top of thejtube 1 0 hooked byits cliporlhook' on to-the-pin 19 while the spool carrying the excess thread this suitabl -'s 1.nported to 'nermitthethread to be fed as re uired. Then-ail 511 is then removed, ther by allowin thetube and the. stack toidrop into 110,-. .s'itiOuIQIileeding, and the weightinginod [3 ar ranged thei tube as previouslyfiescribed, The machinethus re-loaidedmay nowa ain he. set into QPeratiQn. 1 1 e V V V It "will be .seen that tthesreeloading .operation may. 'bleudulcfklylperfonned Zby unskilled persons,

th less remainsin p e in the tube and ma readily'be manipulatedif required during the reknotting ofthe thread and therestringing of the spangle by the insertion ofthe nail 510 into the stack, tube, that knots inc the thread are easily drawn through thestac'k and the machinewhen necessary owing togthe ,accuratepalignmen tloflthe spangles, that the stresses on the top threadare 7 reduced to a. minimum by thereduction of transverse movemen e swayin of thestack, that, the weight onft'hestacli moves automatically a the stack'is depleted andtacts directly upon the top 0f the stack at all times, and that I have provided a feedingdevice well adapted to feed'spangles and articles -of;simi lar--nature which are difiicult to handle tomacli'ine for furtheroperation thereon. WhfleiI have shown and' described certain s'pcificmorms @of the invention, it will be. understood that oh; changes mayhem-aide therein-within the spirit pf the invention-defined in the appendedaims- I V V tle aim:

l. ,A; spir ng-1e ieeding device: comprising an elongated tube having a longitudinal slot therein and having a perforation adjacent an end thereof and diametrically opposite the slot, a removable headed pin in the perforation having a shank extending through the slot and adapted to support a stack of threaded spangles arranged within the tube, and a hook clip at the other end of the tube adapted to engage a fixed support to secure said other end in place removably, said clip having a closed upper end and being open at its lower end whereby the clip and the tube are removable as a unit from said support by a lifting movement.

2. A spangle feeding device comprising a tube having a slot throughout the length thereof. means at the end of the tube to support the tube and weighting means slidable along the tube and comprising a rod insertable within the tube and having a longitudinal hole therein communicating with a longitudinal slot in the rod, a weight in transverse spaced relation to the rod, and a member connecting the rod and the weight and adapted to pass through the slot of the tube.

3. A spangle feeding device comprising a first slotted tube, a second shorter slotted tube into which the first tube is adapted to telescope, and weighting means for a stack of spangles within the first tube, said means including a stackpressing element insertable into the first tube, a weight adapted to be arranged outside of and in spaced relation to the first tube and a connecting member joining the weight and the element.

4. A spangle feeding device according to claim 3 in which the upper end of the first tube is outwardly flared, and both ends of the second tube are outwardly flared.

5. The combination with a slung spangle machine of the character described having an upstanding tubular inlet for spangles and. a horizontal post carrying the inlet, of a spangle feeding device comprising a first slotted tube adapted to hold therewithin a stack of threaded spangles, said tube resting removably and loosely on the upper end of the inlet and having a pin-receiving perforation adjacent the lower end thereof, and a second slotted tube receiving the lower end of the first tube and removably encompassing the inlet and. thereby aligning the tubes and the stack with the inlet, said second tube having a notched end edge resting removably on the post.

6. The combination with a slung spangle machine of the character described having a spangle inlet, a pair of discs rotatable in opposite directions, 9, thread carrying bobbin on each disc, a pulley on each disc directing the bobbin thread toward a predetermined point to wrap said thread around the filler threads hereinafter mentioned on the rotation of the discs, and filler thread pulleys directing filler threads toward the inlet, said machine operating to overlap threaded spangles fed thereto and to secure and wrap the bobbin threads on the under side of the length of overlapped spangles, of a tube slotted along 6 its entire length to split the tube, said tube being adapted to hold a stack of threaded spangles in alignment with the inlet and resting removably on the inlet, and means for supportin the upper end of the tube for removal from the machine by a single movement.

7. A spangle feeding device comprising a tube having a slot along the entire length thereof, a hook clip at one end of the tube, there being a perforation in the tube adjacent the other end thereof, and a weighting device having a part slida ble in the tube and having a weight in transverse spaced relation to said part and connected thereto.

8. The combination with a slung spangle machine adapted to overlap threaded spangles into strip form and to wrap threads around filler threads arranged lengthwise along the under side of the strip of overlapped spangles, of a slotted threaded-spangle holding tube, means for supporting the lower end of the tube adjacent the machine and means for supporting the upper end of the tube, both of said means being adapted to permit the removal of the tube from the machine by a single movement.

9. The combination according to claim 8 in which the machine is provided with an inlet member supporting the tube and with means for feeding the filler threads and for feeding and wrapping the wrapping threads around the filler threads.

10. A spangle feeding device comprising a tube having a slot along the entire length thereof and a hook clip at one end of the tube, there being a perforation in the tube adjacent the other end thereof, said clip being closed at the top and open at the bottom thereof whereby the clip may be hooked about a pin by a downward movement and lifted from the pin by an upward movement, and a second slotted tube receiving the first mentioned tube with the slots of the tubes in alignment, said second tube havin a notched end edge of generally V-shaped form adapted to rest on the cylindrical surface of a horizontal post of a slung spangle machine.

MAXWELL H. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENT Number Name Date Re. 11,947 White Nov. 19, 1901 328,365 Vinton Oct. 13, 1885 662,494 Morris Nov. 27, 1900 1,335,805 Trueb Apr. 6, 1920 1,893,538 Ederer Jan. 10, 1933 2,087,481 Roby et al. July 20, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,735 France Aug, 26, 1913 454,732 France May 5, 1913 

